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The non-linear development of the right hemispheric specialization for human face perception
Aliette Lochy1, Adélaïde de Heering2, Bruno Rossion3
1Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Belgium.
Neuropsychologia
|June 29, 2017
Summary
The development of face perception specialization in the brain is complex. This study shows that while infants have a right-hemisphere advantage, this specialization changes non-linearly in children, influenced by factors like reading acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Adults exhibit right hemispheric specialization for face perception, but its developmental origins in childhood are debated.
- Infant studies suggest an early right-hemispheric advantage, while some theories propose emergence during childhood due to reading acquisition impacting neural processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of face perception lateralization in preschoolers.
- To reconcile discrepant findings between infant and child face perception studies by using a consistent methodology.
Main Methods:
- Employed fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) and electroencephalography (EEG) in 5-year-old preschoolers.
- Assessed preschoolers' visual letter knowledge and compared their face-selective neural responses to those of infants.
Main Results:
- Preschoolers' face-selective responses were quantitatively larger and topographically different from infants' but showed no hemispheric difference.
- A modest positive correlation was observed between preschoolers' letter knowledge and right hemispheric specialization for faces.
- Discrepant findings in the literature are attributed to genuine nonlinear developmental changes rather than methodological variations.
Conclusions:
- Face perception lateralization undergoes nonlinear development during childhood.
- Factors like reading acquisition and corpus callosum myelination may contribute to adult right hemispheric specialization for faces.
- FPVS-EEG is a valuable tool for studying face perception development consistently across age groups.
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